Population, Mid-Year 2019: 60,550,000
Projected Population Mid-Year 2030: 59,031,000
Percentage of Population Under Age 25 Years, Mid-Year 2019: 23%
Percentage of Population 65 Years Or Over, Mid-Year 2019: 23%

Source: United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2019). World Population Prospects 2019: Data Booklet (ST/ESA/SER.A/424).

Percent of Adults Aged 65 and Over Receiving Long-Term Care (2017): NA
Percent of Adults Aged 65 Years and Over Reporting To Be In Fair, Bad, or Very Bad Health (2017): 58.1%
People With Dementia Per 1,000 Population (2019): 23.4%
Projected Number of People With Dementia Per 1,000 Population in 2050: 42.7%
Long-Term Care Workers Per 100 People Aged 65 And Over (2016): 1.9
Long-Term Care Beds In Institutions and Hospitals Per 1,000 Population Aged 65 And Over (2017): 19.2
Long-Term Care Expenditure (Health and Social Components) By Government and Compulsory Insurance Schemes, as a Share of GDP (%) (2017): 0.6%

Source: OECD (2019), Health at a Glance 2019: OECD Indicators, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/4dd50c09-en.

Formal Long-Term Care Workers At Home (FTE) (2018): NA
Formal Long-Term Care Workers In Institutions (FTE) (2018): NA
Long-Term Care Recipients In Institutions Other Than Hospitals (2018): 469,655
Long-Term Care Recipients At Home (2018): 1,010,724

Source: Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. OECD.Stat. Last accessed Oct. 7, 2020.

“Sustained gains in life expectancy combined with low fertility rates over the last two decades have contributed to a steady rise in the share of the population aged 65 and over. In 2017, more than one in five Italians was aged 65 years and over, up from only one in eight in 1980; this share is projected to increase to around one in three people by 2050.

“In 2017, life expectancy at age 65 reached nearly 21 years, one year above the EU average (Figure 4). However, as in other countries, Italians spend slightly more than half of these additional years of life after 65 with some health issues and disabilities. The gender gap in life expectancy at age 65 is about three years in favour of women, but there is no gender gap in the number of healthy life years because Italian women live a greater proportion of their lives in old age with some health issues and disabilities.

“Slightly less than half of Italians aged 65 and over reported having at least one chronic disease in 2017, which is lower than the EU average. Most people are able to continue to live independently in old age, but one in six Italians aged 65 and over reported in 2017 some limitations in basic activities of daily living, such as dressing and eating, which may require long-term care assistance. About four in ten people aged 65 years and more reported some depression symptoms, a higher proportion than the EU average.”

Source: OECD/European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies (2019), Italy: Country Health Profile 2019, State of Health in the EU, OECD Publishing, Paris/European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies, Brussels.

“Long-term care should be analysed taking into account demographic trends, which show constant increases in both the average age of the population and its mean life expectancy. The 12.5 million Italians who were over 65 in 2012 are mostly affected by conditions such as osteoarthritis and arthritis, arterial hypertension and osteoporosis (women only). The over-80s are estimated to account for 9% of the total population by 2030 (ISTAT, 2009). In the context of Italy’s rapidly ageing population long-term care represents one of the main areas where effective integration between health and social care is needed more than ever. However, long-term care is still characterized by multiple providers and delivery methods. Historically, local municipalities have been in charge of providing social care services and ASLs have been considered responsible both for health-care services and some social care. Thus, the provision of long-term care is something of a ‘jungle’ where many different actors play according to different rules within different care models. In between, GPs act as the essential guide for patients, helping them to navigate the different options available when dealing with chronic diseases. While legislation has aimed to improve integrated care (see section 5.3), effective integrated long-term care is still a long way off.”

Source: Ferré F, de Belvis AG, Valerio L, Longhi S, Lazzari A, Fattore G, Ricciardi W, Maresso A. Italy: Health System Review. Health Systems in Transition, 2014, 16(4):1–168.

“Residential or semi-residential facilities (Residenze Sanitarie Assistenziali – RSA) and community nursing homes (case protette) represent the usual institutional setting for caring for elderly and disabled people, including those with mental health conditions (see section 5.11). RSAs generally care for patients who require more intensive use of health-care resources, whereas less critical patients are directed towards community nursing homes. In 2011 there were 333 091 elderly and disabled patients living within residential facilities, with the elderly making up 84% of the total (Osservasalute, 2012). Despite the strong financial restrictions of the Spending Review (2012), at national level the number of post-acute care beds (in hospitals and including those in residential and semi-residential facilities) increased marginally (37 252 beds in 2011 compared to 37 153 in 2009) (Ministero della Salute, 2011a). In 2011, the discharge rate for long-term beds remained stable in comparison to the previous year, with 1.6 admissions per 1000 inhabitants. The bed rate for elderly and disabled patients was 567.8 per 100 000 inhabitants in 2010, with strong variations between northern and southern regions: rates are higher than 776.8 (per 100 000) in the north, while in the south the lowest rate is recorded in Campania (180.3 per 100 000) and the highest in Molise (601.0 per 100 000) (Osservasalute 2012).”

Source: Ferré F, de Belvis AG, Valerio L, Longhi S, Lazzari A, Fattore G, Ricciardi W, Maresso A. Italy: Health System Review. Health Systems in Transition, 2014, 16(4):1–168.

Health Systems Facts is a project of the Real Reporting Foundation. We provide reliable statistics and other data from authoritative sources regarding health systems in the US and several other nations.

Page last updated April 20, 2021 by Doug McVay, Editor.